The 2012 Flower Festival will be held in Hanoi from December 30, 2011 to January 2, 2012 to welcome the upcoming lunar New Year (the Year of Dragon). The event is part of activities to celebrate the 82nd founding anniversary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (February 3). The flower festival will take place around the Hoan Kiem (Restored Sword) Lake in the centre of the capital city. In the framework of the festival, there [...]

The Consulate General of Japan, together with the municipal Youth Cultural House, organized the Vietnam-Japan festive day in HCM city on November 13. The annual event attracted more than 1,000 people including young people and students aiming to promote cultural exchanges and mutual understanding between Japan and Vietnam. Diverse traditional activities were held during the event including coloring Japanese paintings, introducing Japanese culinary arts and exploring study opportunities in Japan.

The Super Star Aquarius cruise ship, bringing 2,100 foreign tourists, from Hong Kong, China docked at Chan May port in the central province of Thua Thien-Hue on November 14. While in Hue, visitors visited Ancient Hue relics complex and enjoyed Hue Royal Court Music. This was the first time they had taken a long tour of Vietnam from Ha Long Bay in the northern province of Quang Ninh to the central city of Da Nang.

Vietnam’s Ha Long Bay is one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature, announced the New7Wonders Foundation on November 12 after the first count of global voting ended a day earlier. In alphabetical order, the seven winners are the Amazon, Ha Long Bay, Iguazu Falls, Jeju Island, Komodo, Puerto Princesa Underground River and Table Mountain. The New7Wonders of Nature campaign have been carried out over the past four years, starting with more than 440 locations [...]

The first International Tea Festival will be held in the northern province of Thai Nguyen from November 11 to 15, organizers announced at a press conference Wednesday. The festival will feature a seminar on Vietnamese tea integrating into the international market, a parade, a tea culture festival, a cuisine and specialty market and other artistic activities. A new national record, the biggest tea pot in Vietnam, will be displayed at the festival.A tea night of [...]

Police in the southern province of Ba Ria – Vung Tau on Wednesday said they are investigating a ring accused of illegally transporting people into Australia by sea. The police said they have detained the ring leader, 47-year-old Nguyen Dinh Chien, and two other people on charges of smuggling people into foreign countries.

Last week newly-appointed Transport Minister Dinh La Thang made the headlines with bold statements about dealing with traffic jams in Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi – the country’s largest cities. He promoted public transport, appealing for officials to take the bus at least once a week to set a good example. He also claimed that he himself had traveled by public bus incognito to inspect their services, and concluded that their quality generally met [...]

Silence is golden; it’s also a good way to have fun, approximately 300 attendees at the Silent Party, held on October 22, recently learned.The party, held by the Ho Chi Minh City’s Deaf Culture Club and group of volunteers, allowed attendees aged from 2.5 to 67 years old, to express their ideas without words. The party also featured draught beer, team games, a self-service buffet — all for VND 250,000.

The Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) on Tuesday pledged to provide around US$4.5 million in aid for a project to improve the safety of agricultural and aquatic products in Vietnam, Vietnam News Agency reported. The project aims to enhance Vietnam’s monitoring system for agricultural and aquatic product safety. Funding for the three-year project (2011-2014) will come from the Japanese government’s non-refundable aid.